Jesus began his ministry by slowly and carefully revealing himself as the Messiah. He took up the identity of a recognizable Jewish figure a prophet and rabbi... yet to all who encountered him, he seemed like more. Jesus ventured from town to town, teaching in a way that was in keeping with Jewish law and tradition even as he deepened the demands of love, mercy, and conversion. He gave his “Sermon on the Mount,” taught the beatitudes, and commanded that we love our enemies. He also performed deeds of astonishing power, healing the sick and the blind, tending to the poor, and loving widows, prostitutes, and outcasts.

While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover.

www.primematters.com

A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.